Peter taltavtjll



P. TALTAVULL. Passenger Register.

Patented Jan. 25, 1853.

Ny PETERS. Pnnmhmumpmr. wlinmgm". n. cy

UNITED sTATEs PATENT oEEicE. f

PETER TALTAVULL, OF WASHINGTON, DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA.v

OMNIBUS-REGISTER.

Specification of Letters '.Patent No. 9,563, dated January 25, k18523.

To all whom t may concern.'

Be it known that I, PETER TALTAVULL, of the city of Washington, in the District of Columbia, have invented a new and Improved Register for Ascertaining the Number of Passengers Oonveyed in Omnibuses and other Vehicles; and I do hereby declare that the following is a full and exact description thereof, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, making a part of this specification, in which- Figure l, is a plan of my improved register, the top, or step, being removed to show the inward action of the machine; Fig. 2, a front elevation thereof; Fig. 3, a transverse section of the same, in the line ai, of Fig. 2; and Figs. 4 and 5, views of parts detached.

Like letters refer to similar parts in all the figures.

A shallow oblong box A, is secured upon, or in the position of, the upper step of an omnibus, and is provided with a cover B, hinged to its front side, while the rear side of the cover is allowed to vibrate freely up and down. In the central part of said boX is a small compartment b, in which the device for operating the machine is arranged. In the front end of this compartment is situated the escapement tube c, in an inclined position, the front end being highest, and communicating with chambers a, a, in which the balls are`tirst placed, and whose bottoms are inclined in such a manner and to such a degree as to cause the balls to roll in succession into the tube c. The chambers a, a, may be divided oli' by partitions in the manner indicated by the dotted lines at n, Fig. l, in order to prevent the balls clog ging ,-but this I do not consider necessary, as the jolting of the omnibus will eiiectually keep the balls free to roll into the tube c. The balls e, e, &c., are of sutiicient size to nearly fill the caliber of the tube c, but to roll freely therein. A lever cl, is placed behind the escapement tube so as to vibrate up and down on a suitable fulcrum, and has secured under it a spring f, which presses its rear end upward against the cover, or step, B, and raises the saine a suitable distance from the boX A, when no person is standing upon it. To the front end of said lever is attached a thin plate g, bent into the form of a hook, as seen in Fig. 3, the distance between its prong h, and shank being just sutlicient to admit a single ball. m, is formed in the rear angle of said hookshaped plate7 of suiiicient size to allow a ball to readily drop through. The plate is so arranged and proportioned that its shank passes close to the rear end of the tube c, and closes 1t so as to prevent a ball from dropping out when the rear end of the lever, and consequently the step B, are raised; while, at the same time, the prong 7L, is depressed below the tube c, and allows a ball to pass t0 the lower end of the tube. Then, when a person steps upon the step B, thereby depressing the rear end of the lever d, and consequently raising the front end thereof, the shank of the plate g, is raised sufficiently to allow the lower ball in the tube to escape, whereupon it falls through the aperture m, into a drawer C, inserted under the box A, and locked, the key of the lock remaining in the hands of the owner of the omnibus, who alone has access to the drawer. At the same time that the shank of the plate g, is raised, its prong h, is elevated and enters a notch z', in the lower side of the tube c, far enough to prevent any balls passing below it till it is again depressed. Hence, each time that the step B, is depressed by a passenger entering or leaving the omnibus, a single ball is allowed to escape from the end of the tube, and as soon as he steps olf and the step B, rises, the mouth of the tube is closed and the shank descending allows another ball to descend to the end of the tube, to be again allowed to escape when another passenger enters or leaves the omnibus. Thus, for each passenger, who enters and leaves the omnibus, two balls are dropped into the drawer C; so that the owner by counting the number of balls in the drawer at the close of the day, and dividing that number by two, ascertains at once the number of passengers, who have ridden in the omnibus during the day.

A spring 0, is arranged on one side of the tube c, so that its vibrating end shall coincide with, and form a part of the inclined plane at the upper end of said tube, and that it will be agit-ated by the hooked plate g, as it moves up and down. The ob] ect of this arrangement is to shake the balls at the mouth of the tube to prevent their clogging there.

The step B, is situated under the door of the omnibus; and should it project far from An aperture;

under the same, a fender of sheet iron or tin, attached to the door and covering the step, Will protect it from being disturbed by boys jumping on behind the omnibus, or any other accident; such as two or more persons stepping on at the same time.

Having thus described my improved omnibus register, What I claim therein as new and desire to secure by Leters Patent is- The spring 0, operated and arranged in combination with the inclined planes and escapement tube, in the manner and for the purpose substantially as herein described.

The above specification of my improved register for numbering passengers in omni" 15 buses and other vehicles signed by Ine this 26th day of August 1852.

PETER TALTAVULL.

Vitnesses:

J. S. BROWN, SAML. GRUBB. 

